


time's up

by hichewss



Series: time's up [1]
Category: IZONE (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Angst, Childhood Friends, F/F, Fluff, Slow Burn, annyeongz is not dead, fight me on this, mentions of yulyen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-26
Updated: 2019-05-26
Packaged: 2020-03-17 18:07:21
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 9,930
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18970327
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hichewss/pseuds/hichewss
Summary: There's a timer on her wrist. It's supposed to tick, supposed to change according to when her soul will be complete. When the numbers stop shifting, and she meets her other half, BOOM. Sunshine. Lollipops. Rainbows. Perfection.The only problem is that Jang Wonyoung's timer has been stuck on zero for as long as she could remember.(or, Jang Wonyoung has too many feelings and Ahn Yujin is no help. At all.)





	time's up

**Author's Note:**

> I wrote this on my AFF account back in January. Not really sure why I've decided to upload it here after like half a year, but life is full of impulsive decisions, and you just gotta run with them, hey?
> 
> This was inspired by a Haikyuu fic that I remember reading years ago. I'd cite it, but I can't find it again :((
> 
> Enjoy!

There's a timer on her wrist. It's supposed to tick, supposed to change according to when her soul will be complete. When the numbers stop shifting, and she meets her other half, BOOM. Sunshine. Lollipops. Rainbows. Perfection.

The only problem is that Jang Wonyoung's timer has been stuck on zero for as long as she could remember.

 

* * *

 

Wonyoung doesn’t remember the first time she notices the bright blue numbers etched into her skin. 

At some point in her early years, she looks down and discovers a bunch of circles stamped on her wrist. 

Her mother is cooking dinner as she toddles around trying to keep up with her older sister, bare feet making smacking noises against the wooden floorboards. With a loud huff, she gives up the chase and climbs onto the sofa with some difficulty, managing to roll straight into her father’s lap, wide eyes blinking up with genuine puzzlement. Laughing, he gathers her into his arms, and before long his attention is drifting away from Wonyoung and back to the book he is reading. Wonyoung pouts, before her eyes drift down to her arms and she discovers the bright blue circles on her wrist. 

“What?” Making use of her limited vocabulary, she pokes his arm with vigour, pointing to her wrist when he turns to look at her. Of course, her father is unable to see anything marked on her skin, but with Wonyoung’s chubby little finger repeatedly jabbing the same area and asking the same question over and over, it wasn’t hard to understand. 

“It’s a countdown. When the numbers stop changing and reaches zero, it means that you’ve found the person you’re meant to be with forever. Like me and your mum.”

She let this information float through her brain, lips pursed in an attempt to understand this concept of time, of mates, of forever, and decides to clamber off her father’s lap and run into her room. Who needs weird circles when there are toys lying around just begging for her to pick them up and play with them?

 

* * *

 

“Wonyoung!”

A weird mix of dread and excitement washes over Wonyoung as Yujin's loud (but familiar) voice pierces her eardrums. She watches as the older girl lets go of her mother’s hand and runs toward her, even tackling her to the ground.

(Yujin says it’s the feeling of the privilege, of the honour of seeing the awesome Ahn Yujin again. Wonyoung disagrees.)

Ahn Yujin has been her best friend for as long as Wonyoung’s been able to string together a semi-coherent sentence (that is, a long time). Their memories have long since weaved themselves into a mess, of shared memories, of memories that didn’t belong to her, but might as well have been. It’s impossible for her to pick out a time where Yujin _wasn’t_ her best friend.

(Yujin has a collection of Wonyoung’s baby photos stashed on her phone and backed up on Google Drive, ready to whip out and use as a meme in any given situation. Wonyoung has a folder too, one that she doesn’t show to anyone. It consists only of photos of the two of them. Wonyoung scrolls through them sometimes, in the darkness of the night. Thinking. Remembering.)

In the present day, though, Wonyoung doesn't appreciate the dirt that is going to get stuck to her clothes, best friend or not.

“Get off!” Wonyoung complains, trying to get up. Yujin is sprawled on top of Wonyoung, limbs flailing around, doing anything but trying to get up, pinning the smaller girl to the ground. 

Yujin’s eyes fill with glee. “Someone missed their nap! Look who’s all grumpy!” 

Wonyoung huffs in indignance, hitting Yujin’s leg with a clean smack. She’s four. Everyone knows that four year olds don’t need afternoon naps anymore. She smiles in satisfaction when the older girl yelps in pain, immediately getting off of her and pouting. “Mum! Wonyoungie hit me again!”

Ahn Yujin is a brat. She’s loud, likes to tease others (mainly Wonyoung) and thinks she can get away with whatever she wants. Which is true. She can. Because as much of a bully as Yujin is, she’s got the sweet smile and little dimples in her chubby cheeks to make every living creature with eyes fall for her cuteness. Definitely _not_ Wonyoung, though. It’s really annoying. 

But what can she say? It’s Ahn Yujin, her absolute bestest friend in the whole wide world. That is, according to Yujin, not Wonyoung. 

“Sorry,” she mutters, but not to Yujin. Never to Yujin, whose faux teary eyes and quivering lip transform into a wide grin as soon as the word leaves Wonyoung’s mouth.

No, Wonyoung doesn’t apologise to Yujin, but to Auntie Ahn, who probably doesn’t want her daughter being hit by anyone other than her. It’s not that she wants to apologise, because it was totally Yujin’s fault, and she deserved it. But, on the off chance that Auntie Ahn (read: her mum) gets mad, she’s not taking any chances. Auntie Ahn makes the best cookies. 

“Don’t worry about it, Wonyoung. Yujin is a brat sometimes.” Auntie assures her. See, she knew there was a reason why Auntie is her favourite Ahn. (Uncle Ahn is close second). 

Wonyoung looks at Yujin, who is grinning expectantly (so. annoying.) looking like she just made it out of the greatest battle in history as the victor (she did). She grabs the Wonyoung’s hand and starts dragging her towards the playground. “Come on, let’s play! I get to pick the game to make up for you hitting me!”

“Yeah, yeah,” She has to restrain herself from 'accidentally' pinching the back of Yujin’s hand. 

 

* * *

 

She’s ten when she next spares a thought for the timer on her wrist. She’s at Yujin's house, the two of them outside, passing a basketball back and forth. It’s something they picked up not too long ago after Yujin saw it on TV and absolutely insisted that they try it. Who was Wonyoung to refuse her?

Turns out it wasn't such a bad idea and they both enjoy it a lot. Yujin does have good ideas after all. Except that her breakdancing phase. That was absolutely not a good idea. And still Wonyoung catches Yujin trying to do a headstand every now and then.

But it’s like Yujin has tunnel vision, with each phase being the only thing that Yujin pays attention to for a short period of time, until there’s suddenly something new to replace it. 

(Wonyoung waits, dreading the day Yujin’s Wonyoung phase comes to an end.)

When Yujin first insisted on basketball, it wasn't something Wonyoung expected to stick. Why would Ahn Yujin, resident lazy bum, pick the sweatiest and most tiring sport that their school had to offer? But it does stick, and she’s half glad (moments with Yujin are worth all worth the many accidental shots aimed at Wonyoung's head and the sweaty practices that make Wonyoung want to pass out and never wake up again.)

“Oh!” Yujin exclaims when they stop for a water break, as if she just remembered something important. “You remember Yena?”

Yena. Yujin's cousin. Wonyoung's only met her once or twice. She's kinda weird. “Yeah? What about her?”

“She barged into our house during lunch the other day, shouting really loud about something,” Yujin explains, picking the ball up again, “I thought she got more coupons for her favourite sukiyaki restaurant, but she was yelling about how the timer on her wrist turned zero when she met this girl at at the arcade.”

“Right...” It’s the first time they've talked about the timers seriously. She thinks about the zeros on her own wrist, piercing blue and staring straight back at her, like a heavy cloud that hangs over her head, ready to crush her and her puny little self at any moment. 

"She kept gushing about hamsters and huskies and pigtails and mushy stuff like that. It was weird." Yujin continues to dribble the ball around mindlessly. Wonyoung watches as the ball slams into the concrete. Again, and again, and again.

_Bang. Bang. Bang._

Wonyoung snaps out of her reverie in time to reply to Yujin. 

“That’s cool. Good for her.” She doesn't know why the words leave a bitter aftertaste in her mouth. 

("You really do suck at identifying feelings."

 "Shut up!")

“I asked her about it,” Yujin says. Wonyoung convinces herself that she’s staring at the basketball and not Yujin’s slender fingers. “She said everyone has a timer that is supposed to reach zero when they meet their soulmate. And then she went on a tangent about her soulmate, I kinda tuned out, but apparently it’s normal?”

“Yeah, Yeeun talks about it heaps.” She's always wondered why her sister was always so excited to talk about soulmates. But if Yujin says it's normal, then it must be.

The words slip out of her mouth without a second thought. “How much do you have left on your timer?”

The light reflecting in Yujin's eyes flicker for a moment before she averts her eyes, looking down at her wrist, chewing on her lip in deep thought. 

The prolonged period of silence puts Wonyoung on edge. There’s something seriously wrong when neither of them have anything to say. Silences mean something is wrong. What’s wrong? 

“Lots.” Yujin finally answers, “You?”

She doesn’t know why she feels so unconvinced with Yujin’s answer. It’s a bit like Yujin’s attempts at rapping. That is, a momentary feeling of satisfaction and amusement, before quickly turning into feelings of uneasiness and a sense of impending doom. 

“Same. Lots.” Wonyoung lies. “Isn’t that normal?”

She’s pretty sure zero isn’t normal, but Yujin doesn't needs to know. No one needs to know. No one can know.

Yujin nods, trademark dimpled smile on her face, but it's considerably smaller than before, and it doesn’t quite reach her eyes. Not the standard grin that has become synonymous with the name Ahn Yujin. Wonyoung figures that she just doesn’t like talking about it. Forever isn’t something people under the age of 30 think about, anyway. 

“Come on, let’s keep playing.”

She grabs Wonyoung's hand and pulls her back toward the basketball ring. Wonyoung pushes thoughts of their conversation away. It’s not something she needs to think about.

Not yet.

 

* * *

 

Heading into high school sees Yujin laughing gently, eyes sparkling with an unrivalled joie de vivre as she goes about her everyday life. It just so happens that everyday, boys and girls alike come up to her, asking how much time she has left on her timer. As if they had a chance. Every time, Yujin answers with a “Sorry, I still have heaps of time,” though, if you ask Wonyoung, Yujin isn’t apologetic in the slightest. 

(So maybe it doesn’t happen everyday, but Wonyoung doesn’t have a hecking soulmate. Let her be bitter.)

Wonyoung’s never seen such simple words break hearts. She’s found girls crying in the bathroom on more than one occasion. The boys probably cry as well, but it's not like Wonyoung's ever gone to check. She watches as Yujin turns away from her lastest rejectee and towards her with a bright smile, as if the boy behind her, Jeongin, if she remembers correctly, doesn't have the most pitiful, kicked-puppy look on his face right now.

“Being popular is tiring,” Yujin complains, leaning against a random locker as she waits for Wonyoung to pack her books away so that they can eat lunch together. 

 _Liar_. Wonyoung shoves her head deeper into her locker, ignoring the faux exasperated expression on Yujin’s face. “I don’t know what they see in you.”

Yujin looks affronted. “Why wouldn’t they want me? I’m a wonderful person!”

Wonyoung holds back a snort, “Think what you’d like. I know the truth.”

“Hey! That sounds an awful lot like an insult.”

“What, am I not allowed to poke fun at you, Miss I-shower-once-every-three-days?”

“Hey! Don’t talk about my shower habits when your room is a literal pigsty.” Yujin huffs and turns away, putting on a charming smile and casually greeting a few of her classmates as they walk past. Wonyoung ignores the weird feeling that starts to rise within her and continues to search for her cheese sandwich. 

As soon as she pokes her head out of her locker, Yujin drags her to a secluded part of the roof gardens, as she does every single day.

Wonyoung stares at Yujin as she chews in silence. There is a solemn look in her eyes, and her tone is serious, voice quiet when she speaks. 

“I didn't know so many people reached zero just like that. I never noticed it before.”

“You still have a lot of time left?”

“Yeah. Heaps.”

They don’t get to say more on that after that, because Yujin starts bragging about her latest achievements as Wonyoung stuffs her cheese sandwich into her mouth, listening to her silently. 

Both of them had moved on from their basketball phase.

(It barely lasted a year.)

 

* * *

 

Feelings change over time. It's kind of unexpected, until she thinks it through properly and realizes that it really isn't that much of a surprise, that she should've seen it coming.

It's daunting, a feeling of impending doom that makes Wonyoung instinctively brace herself because there's no way she's able avoid the incoming hurricane that is Ahn Yujin. 

They’ve always had an easygoing relationship, where things just fall into place without them doing too much. Falling, falling, falling, into a steady rhythm that belongs entirely to them.

Even then, the ache in her heart whenever she sees Yujin, or the warmth that rises to her cheeks when she thinks of things that could be makes Wonyoung realise that what she feels for Yujin is definitely beyond friendship. There's an odd sort of satisfaction, like she just solved Einstein’s riddle, when she figures it out in her head.

Then it all comes crashing down, because there is no chance of anything remotely like that ever happening. No way.

Yujin's timer is still ticking away, while Wonyoung's is obsolete.

It wouldn’t be fair to hold her back like that. It's selfish, and Wonyoung wouldn't do that to Yujin. She won’t, no matter how badly she wants to.

She repeats this to herself every time Yujin makes her heart flutter. Conceal. Don't feel. Don’t let it show. She's got to pull herself out of this hole.

But Ahn Yujin is like the sun. She draws people in, makes them feel something without even lifting a finger, keeps them orbiting around her while she remains oblivious to the power she has over them. It's during times like this when Wonyoung really, _really_ hates her best friend. 

She's been drawing Wonyoung in since they were little kids, bratty little kids forced to play together through their mothers’ mutual overexcitement at being new parents. No matter how many times Wonyoung has said over the years that Yujin is annoying and insufferable and is the absolute worst, she never looks away.

She could never look away.

 _I am **not** falling in love with my best friend_, she tells herself, but deep down, she knows that her heart has gone way past that point. She’s already stepped over the "Please mind the gap" line, pushed her way through the "Do not enter" zone and plunged head first into "No U-turns" territory.

But there's nothing stopping Wonyoung from being in denial.

 

* * *

 

Except there is.

Wonyoung's lying in bed, tossing and turning. It's probably 2am, but she’s too busy trying to come to come up with a cure for her newly identified Yujin Disease.

For the past month or so, Yujin had been stressing over her next track and field championship, and it’s slowly killing Wonyoung on the inside. 

Why? 

Because underneath the jovial persona that Yujin has established for herself lies a sensitive soul who cries easily, tears herself apart over not improving, not being fast enough, not being _good enough_. One harsh lecture too many, and Yujin shrinks, transforming into a small, unconfident shadow of her former self. Her mask would slip off and Wonyoung would all but carry her back to her house. 

Is this a weakness? Wonyoung doesn’t think so. If it is, then Wonyoung is definitely the weakest human currently in existence.

Falling in love with someone she can’t have. It's such an overused trope that she doesn't know whether she wants to laugh or cry because she (and every second girl/boy at their school) is the poor person pining over Yujin.

She wants to stab the person who invented the concept of soulmates. And laugh. Because It’s so cliche. 

With a bitter chuckle, she rolls over in the bed, eyes boring holes into the person who is the cause of her restlessness.

Yujin asked her (or, all but dragged her by the arm) to come over after an incident earlier where she’d lost her temper and nearly hit a girl who kept insisting that she was her soulmate. The girl was only unharmed because Wonyoung was there, because she had stopped Yujin and talked her into calming down. It didn't stop Wonyoung from glaring holes into the back of the girl’s head, though.

She had agreed to the impromptu sleepover, partly because she felt bad for Yujin and her fragile emotional balance around people when they talk to her about soulmates. But who was she kidding, she agreed because it's Yujin, and she would never turn her down.

They had argued about sleeping arrangements. Yujin insisted that they share the bed, ~~because she has absolutely no respect for Wonyoung's poor heart~~ because she hadn't cleaned the floor in ages. Wonyoung tries to argue that she should sleep on the floor, because she's the one crashing into Yujin's room, and she doesn't care about germs, but Yujin waves that away, saying there was no way she could allow that.

(Wonyoung ignores the way her heart beats just the tiniest bit faster)

In the end, Yujin wins. She always does.

Yujin's face is currently smushed against the pillow, limbs sticking out in every single direction. Her mouth open, and there was a bit of drool coming out of her mouth. 

She’s beautiful.

Wait, no- not like, _beautiful_ beautiful. Like she is, but it’s hard to explain. Yujin stands out and draws attention from everyone around her, for her looks, her personality, her skills. 

But no one knows the real Yujin.

Not like Wonyoung does.

Seeing the real Yujin, the Yujin with a smile that’s warm and joyful, one that lights up her whole face is a sight that's truly captivating. Not the one that she plasters on during school, the polite smile that is too perfectly calculated and too well practiced for Wonyoung's liking. Dimples that appear with a quirk of the lips, but not very deep. Eyes that curve into crescent moons, but don’t disappear. It’s not Yujin.

Wonyoung knows. It’s a beauty that goes beyond all the girls who follow Yujin around at school, beyond anything that the boys think they know about Yujin. 

It’s something innate. No one can pretend to understand it, because it’s so uniquely Yujin. Only people who _know_ Yujin are able to see it. 

Despite her (many) flaws, Ahn Yujin is beautiful.

_Dammit..._

 

* * *

 

With the annual KimJjang, Wonyoung takes a break from her Yujin-influenced haze and properly thinks through her dilemma. 

The KimJjang started out as an excuse for the parents to dump the responsibility of baby Wonyoung onto her older sibling and cousins. But as time went on, it became a regular occurrence, usually just to catch up. When the twins moved to Australia, KimJjang took place whenever they came back to visit. Little Wonyoung learns to cherish these events, because her cousins are the only people she's close enough to who understand her, love her, and pay attention to her. 

(Asides from Yujin, of course.)

Wonyoung watches as Felix and Yeeun fiddle with their old game console, dusty from neglect. Which isn't her fault. At all. Sinking comfortably into the couch, she waits with Chaewon, slowly sipping her hot chocolate. 

"It's been a while, hasn't it?"

Wonyoung hums in agreement. She feels Chaewon's piercing eyes asking for a proper conversation, but her hot chocolate took precedence over proper conversation etiquette at the moment. Surely Chaewon understands. She quickly gulps down her current mouthful of chocolatey goodness and turns her attention to her older cousin anyway.

"Only because you and Felix are so busy!"

Wonyoung knows what Chaewon will say, knows that Chaewon would never scare her with horror stories of intense practicing and all-nighters. 

(Wonyoung is willing to admit that the only difference between Chaewon and Yujin is that she thinks of the former in a purely familial and platonic way, a confidant and advisor in all things life. This, however, does _not_ imply anything about her relationship with Yujin.)

Chaewon smirked. "Blame Felix. His crappy piccolo playing gives me nightmares and distracts me from doing my assignments."

"HEY! I only have to play piccolo because my principal can’t play piccolo for shit!"

A chorus of “Language!” and a resounding smack. Wonyoung sighs, exasperated. 

(Wonyoung remembers, how Felix purposely took up flute on top of his violin studies for the sole reason of avoiding 2nd chair, the seat next to Chaewon's esteemed concertmaster seat. To escape from the constant reminder that he will always play second fiddle to his literal other half.

 It shouldn't impact Wonyoung this much, but it does.)

At the sound of the virtual siren, Wonyoung jumps off her train of thought and watches as the quiet squabbling fades into nothing, as if it was never there in the first place. She looks at Yeeun and Felix, who have snapped into game mode and are now focusing on the TV screen. It's funny, how much power Super Smash Bros has over Yeeun, a literal adult.

(Wonyoung is definitely not thinking of how Yujin is 1000% convinced that Cloud is the strongest character, the poor misinformed soul.)

She doesn't miss how Chaewon glances at her wrist every now and then and purses her lips in thought.

 _Damn soulmates_ , Wonyoung complains silently, _they're so troublesome._

She tries to visualize the numbers on her cousin's wrist, how the numbers would look, the way they change every second. Vibrant and pulsing. Holding Chaewon's precious heart in their metaphorical hands. Of course, Chaewon notices her intent staring. Chaewon notices everything.

She smiles softly, and gestures for Wonyoung to move closer. Wonyoung takes this invitation to rest her head on her cousin's lap, sighing in contentment as Chaewon's slender fingers run through her long brown hair. She waits for Chaewon to start the conversation.

"There's only 76 days left, you know?" She says softly, so softly that Wonyoung almost doesn't catch it. She understands immediately. Eyebrows furrowing in concentration, she tries to do the maths in her head. _12 days till exams, 54 days after that for holidays, oooh their birthdays are soon..._

Chaewon can't help but laugh at the look of befuddlement on Wonyoung's face. "76 days is September 4, dummy." And Wonyoung's mouth forms a perfect 'O'.

Much like the numbers stamped on her wrist.

"Juilliard Welcome Day is September 4, right?" At Chaewon's shy nod, Wonyoung let out a little squeal, because this is every her cousin has ever wanted, and more.

She ignores the slight pang in her own heart.

Late at night, with Felix snoring away to her left and Chaewon figeting slightly to her right, Wonyoung lies awake, the gears in her mind burning with intensity as she ponders and plans her next step.

She's absolutely _not_ going to say anything to Yujin about how she feels because she has no right to take Yujin away from her soulmate. Because there are conclusive studies that show that it is a bad idea to split soulmates up. Because soulmates gravitate towards each other, no matter what.

Therefore, Wonyoung is going to bury her feelings deep within her heart, and they will have disappeared completely by the time she finishes high school.

There. She even has an introduction, 3 main reasons, and a conclusion. Her english teacher would be proud.

This'll be easy peasy.

 

* * *

 

_Not easy peasy._

In the wake of the next interschool track and field event, Wonyoung is at Yujin's house again. It’s dark outside, cold too, and Yujin's parents are out, leaving the two of them alone in Yujin's living room, sitting on either end of the couch and facing each other.

There's a silence cloud hanging over them, a cold shower that makes Wonyoung squirm in discomfort, because it's _Yujin,_ and they just don't do silences. Said loudmouth is staring blankly at wall behind Wonyoung's head, picking away at the lint on her sweatpants, a frown marring her otherwise smotth forehead.

Wonyoung watches, observing every micromovement. How Yujin's nose twitches ever so slightly every now and then, how the slender frame of her shoulders rise slightly with every breath. Inhale, exhale. Rise, fall.

Yujin suddenly turns her head towards her. Wonyoung snaps to attention immediately, brown eyes catching darker brown eyes. There's an expression of dead seriousness. _That's strange_.

“I want to say thank you.”

Strange and surprising. Maybe there is some work cut out for her tonight after all.

“For what?”

“Thanks. For coming today.”

“You're welcome? I barely did anything-”

Yujin interrupts her, and Wonyoung resists the urge to smack her. Interrupting is  _rude_. “I’m sorry I didn't win. You must be so disappointed. I’ll work harder.”

And there it is. Downcast eyes. Self-deprecating tone. Depressing mood. What a pitiful sight.

Wonyoung frowns and leans forward to lightly flick Yujin's forehead, preventing more negativity from spilling out of her lips.

“Don't apologize. You were amazing, as always.”

Yujin looks genuinely surprised by the praise, her eyes widening slightly. “Really?”

Wonyoung tries stop herself from melting into a puddle of goo, because Yujin looks like a little puppy begging for validation from her master. But the furrowed brows remain everpresent, and Wonyoung feels herself frowning as well. 

"You did really, really well, so stop drowning yourself in negativity and saying you’re not good enough. Because you are. You're good enough.”

Yujin looks like she’s still grappling with the concept of positivity, because she lost, _dammit_ , but nods slowly anyway. “Right...” She leans back, staring at the ceiling, lost in thought.

“Hey Wonyoung."

"Yeah?"

"I’m glad you’re always here. That I can always rely on you. Thank you.”

Wonyoung's heart pounds at the words, chest tightening at the words she’s longed to hear from Yujin. She knows Yujin feels this way, but to hear it... to hear it means a lot. It means that Yujin cherishes her presence as much as Wonyoung cherishes hers. And maybe, just maybe-

No. She can't.

“You don’t have to thank me, silly. I want to be here.”

Yujin smiles, really smiles, for the first time all night, and shifts forward to hug her. Wonyoung's hand may or may not have crept towards Yujin's hair, fingers combing through her shoulder length hair.

(It's not her fault. It's Yujin's soft, freshly washed, hair.)

They stay like that for a few moments, hearing only the sound of their own breathing in the comfortable silence that now fills the room. Things are calm, steady. Everything is okay.

“You wanna watch TV?” Wonyoung asks, pointing to the remote on the floor near Yujin's end of the couch.

Yujin snatches it up in one fluid motion. “Only if I get to pick!”

“But you picked last time!”

“This is my house! How dare you try to take away my right to pick a movie at my own house!”

“You picked at my house!”

Yujin ignores her and turns the TV on, flipping through the channels at the speed of light in search for something to watch.

Wonyoung grabs the remote from her hands. “Guests should pick. Have some respect.”

“You’re not a guest,” Yujin argues, “You practically live in my house. I practically live at your house. Your guest status was revoked a long time ago.” She wrenches the remote out of Wonyoung's hands and holds it out of reach, unaware of Wonyoung's steadily increasing heartbeat.

“No! You’re going to pick one of those horrible cheaply made action flicks. Or a cringey rom-com.” It's true. Yujin's taste in movies is atrocious.

“Hey! No criticising my taste in movies in my house!” Yujin smacks the back of Wonyoung's hand lightly as she comes close to getting the remote, moving it out of reach again. She smirks, knowing she has the advantage because she’s now sitting on Wonyoung's stomach, who has to struggle and wheeze her way to the remote. “You're just gonna pick a Marvel movie. My poor heart still hasn't recovered from Infinity War.”

“Weak!" Wonyoung is still struggling to reach the remote.

Yujin mouth drops open, gasping for dramatic effect. “Weak?? Do you not remember the amount of tears you shed over Spidey? Ooooh I don't feel so good Mr Stark-"

Wonyoung finally wrestles the remote away from Yujin's hands, but drops it on the floor almost immediately because Yujin starts tickling her. What a cheat.

“Stop! You cheater!” She chokes out between wheezes and giggles.

Yujin laughs manically, leaning in even closer. “Not until you say I win.”

“Never!”

It stops so suddenly, she doesn’t even notice it at first. Wonyoung's arm freezes mid-motion, the laughter dying down as she stares into Yujin's dark eyes staring. Their faces are so close. So very close.

They stay like that for a moment, and then more than a moment, both unmoving. Wonyoung's arm is still rasied in the air, reaching for the remote control clutched tightly in Yujin's left hand, and her other arm is wrapped protectively around her waist, trying to ward off the danger of the tickle monster. Wonyoung subconsciously realises that she's stopped breathing completely. Judging by the silence in the room, Yujin is holding her breath as well.

Suddenly, Wonyoung feels uncomfortable. Her face is probably bright red. But Yujin's is red too, and it’s strange. It’s-

Yujin leans down and kisses her. 

Tentative, and a little wobbly, but it’s nice. It’s so nice. So she kisses back, without hesitation.

They break apart, and look into each other’s eyes. Yujin's irises are actually really brown...

Then when Wonyoung remembers. Timers. Soulmates.

“You shouldn’t have done that,” She murmurs, looking away from Yujin's face, from her soft, pink lips.

Yujin gently holds her face with both hands, turning it back toward her so their eyes are locked once again. “I wanted to. But if you don’t want me to...”

It’s a bad idea. A very, very bad idea. But she can’t resist the pent up feeling that has accumulated and is ready to explode out of her chest and exterminate any rational thought she may have possessed. And she wants to be selfish. She chooses to be selfish.

“Silly, of course I do.”

Their lips meet in another kiss, and another, and another, and another, until they collapse against each other in a giggly mess.

 

* * *

 

When she tells Chaewon, her cousin squeals and immediately tells Felix, to rub it in his face. Apparently anyone with eyes and half a brain could tell that Wonyoung and Yujin were going to end up together, because they were soulmates, right? Felix argued against it, because how the heck was he supposed to know? 

"Admit it, you have less than half a brain!"

"I do not!"

Wonyoung doesn't have the heart to to correct them.

 

* * *

 

There isn’t a monumental shift in the way they do things with each other. They’re still best friends, borne from years of constantly being attached at the hip. But the subtle differences are noticeable. Noticeable, but very, very nice. 

For short periods of time, Wonyoung forgets the ever present reminder that she doesn’t actually belong with Yujin. She ignores the doubts created by the zeros on her wrist.

But those thoughts never stay away for long. In the darkness of the night, without Yujin by her side, she knows. Oh, she knows, that when Yujin's timer runs out, it'll all come falling down. She doesn't want to imagine the pain of letting Yujin go. Then again, she can't imagine that severing a romantic relationship of any sort would ever be an easy thing to do.

Yujin refuses tell her exactly how much time she has left, only that there’s still heaps remaining. Wonyoung slaps on a nonchalant expressing, lying through her teeth as she tells her the same. There's a comforting quality to the deception, of throwing up a facade and making it look like it could work. 

But it wouldn’t. And Wonyoung has to continually remind herself that _this_ isn’t meant to.

The experts says that soulmates are drawn towards each other like moths to a flame, that they’ll find each other no matter what, and any lingering traces of past relationships past are broken, effective immediately. There’s no way to win against the fates, and attempts to defy the jurisdiction of soulmate law guarantees emotional suffering for all parties involved.

Soulmates. The very word leaves a sour taste in her mouth.

No one should have to power to shatter a person’s entire world and build it up again. It’s unfair.

(Then again, what isn’t?)

Wonyoung knows she doesn't stand a chance against someone who holds that much power over Yujin.

Still, it doesn’t stop them.

It doesn’t stop Yujin from whispering a soft “I love you” into Wonyoung's hair as they lie curled up on Wonyoung's couch one night.

It doesn’t stop her from enjoying the warmth radiating from Yujin's skin and pressing a kiss to her cheek. 

It doesn’t stop her from murmuring a soft “I love you too.”

 

* * *

 

“I don’t believe in soulmates,” Yujin declares. It’s late at night, and they’re doing homework together in Yujin's room—the older girl sprawled across Wonyoung's lap and pretending to read her science textbook while Wonyoung leans away from the headboard, using Yujin's back as a makeshift desk to do write her history essay. It’s not the most practical arrangement, but it works. The physical contact is a welcomed bonus.

Wonyoung sets her pen down, tapping her chin (with ink smudges all over her hands) thoughtfully. “You say that now, but you’ll change your mind when you meet them.” 

She leans backwards, until her shoulder blades touch the headboard of the bed, too mentally and emotionally exhausted to debate a topic of this magnitude with someone as stubborn as Yujin. She needs to go back to her homework anyway. Yujin is too distracting.

Said distraction turns to look at her. “What if I said I don’t have one?”

Wonyoung wants to laugh, wants to cry because she wished, how she wished that Yujin didn't have a soulmate. But Wonyoung is in love, not an idiot.

“Of course you have one. Don’t be daft.”

_Except for me, but you don’t need to know that._

“Well, what if I don’t want to meet mine?” Yujin has a pout on her face, petulance radiating off her voice, with the slight whine that Wonyoung knows far too well. It’s the stubborn voice, the one she uses whenever she refuses to do something and doesn't budge. 

She's never been particularly strong-willed against a stubborn Yujin. So she clamps her mouth shut instead.

“Wonyoung?” She removes her laptop from Yujin’s back, and Yujin sits up, turning to face her. All thoughts of homework are forgotten by now.

"Wonyoungie?"

 _If you don't want to meet your soulmate, be mine,_ she wants to say. _Be mine. Stay with me. Don't leave._

But she doesn’t say that. Instead, she says, “You’ll want to. Later.” What a lame answer.

“Oh yeah? How do you know?”

“You can’t resist your soulmate. That's a fact.”

At this, Yujin frowns. “You don’t know that for sure.”

“Maybe I don’t, but it's not like you know any better.” Wonyoung looks at the floor, at the wall, anywhere but Yujin's face. It hurts too much. “Let’s just enjoy this while it lasts, yeah?”

There’s silence, and for a moment she thinks Yujin is going to whine, stick her nose in the air and pout like the child she is, but she hears a soft “Okay.”

She looks up, noting with mild surprise that Yujin doesn’t seem very pleased with her words. For a quick moment, Yujin's eyes are cloudy—filled with sadness, frustration, helplessness, and is that a bit of anger she see? But it's gone as quickly as it came, almost like Wonyoung imagined it in her mind. “Yujinnie?”

“I wouldn’t forget you,” Yujin murmurs. “I would never forget you. You're Wonyoung.”

Her heart constricts at Yujin's words. Biting back a sarcastic retort, she lets her thoughts fill with them. Just them.

All good things come to an end. Dreams are a far cry from reality. Life is a constant disappointment. Nothing lasts forever. 

Not them, anyway.

All they’ll have are their memories, and who's to say that they'll still be happy memories? That they'd even want to remember all of this? Whatever happens, there's going to be a time, years and years later, when their memories become useless, just like the stopped timer on her wrist. Ignored. Resented. And finally,

Forgotten.

As if reading her thoughts, Yujin leans forward, hand grasping Wonyoung's arm, an almost crazed look of desperation in her eyes.

“Don’t forget me, okay? Don't ever forget me.”

Wonyoung wants to hold Yujin and sob, because she could never. She would never. _But maybe it’d be best if she did._

“You dummy. Of course I won't.”

It’s a promise. It doesn’t feel like one, though. Promises are built on trust, on stability and strength. They aren’t supposed to break. This one could. The human brain is weak. Fickle. Against the power of destiny?

Wonyoung didn’t stand a chance.

 

* * *

 

Yujin texts her ‘round midnight, the little twit, and asks her to come over. She gives Wonyoung no explanation, with no reason (not that she needed one). “Can you please come over?” No beating around the bush. A plain and simple request.

It isn't like the usual requests for her to come over - whiny pleas filled with way too many repeated letters and emojis. Wonyoung pretends to think about it, but always makes her way over to Yujin’s house in record timing, each time quicker than the last. Let's face it, no isn't a word in her vocabulary when it comes to Ahn Yujin.

There’s even a please, and proper punctuation. She almost laughs out loud. It’s so different from the usual “wonyoungieeee, come over :DDDDD”

It takes her a grand total of five minutes to pull on a hoodie and and sweatpants, before quietly sneaking out of her house, walking to the one across the street.

She doesn't need to think about how to get in. After so long, she knows exactly how to get into Yujin's house. Which window opens if she wiggles it the right way, which stairs to be extra careful on because they creak super loudly. It’s a skill.

She’s about to head towards the window when a voice stops her. “They’re not home. The door’s unlocked.”

Wonyoung looks to the ground and sees Yujin lying on her back in her front yard, hands tucked underneath her head as she stares up into the night sky. “Are you crazy? It’s way too cold to be sitting outside! If one of us catches a cold from this before the mock exams next week, I swear to God-”

Yujin doesn’t say anything, doesn't move either, letting Wonyoung continue to rant about exams and health as she makes her way over to where Yujin is lying. She’s all smiles and Wonyoung is way too tired to keep her heart in check, voice quieting down into soft grumbles as she settles into position next to Yujin.

The lone streetlight on the street twinkles, barely illuminating anything, yet allowing Wonyoung to see how the leaves of the tree in the front of her yard rustle softly with the breeze. How the noise of the night critters pierce the silence of the night, working together to creat a surprisingly gentle euphony that accompanies the lone streetlight in watching over the two of them as they stare at the stars together.

She takes it all in, watching, waiting, for Yujin to speak.

“My parents are gone for the weekend.”

Wonyoung knows what that means. A few years back, Yujin's parents had left her home alone to go on series of business trips, looking to expand their company into Japan, with the impression that Yujin would be fine on her own for a few days. 

Not even two hours had passed before she was spending the rest of her parents’ trip at Wonyoung's, because she didn’t like being alone in the house.

“Ah, that’s right, you're afraid of the dark.”

Yujin sniffs, turning away from Wonyoung in mock offence. “As if I’m afraid of the _dark_. That’s your fear, scaredy cat.”

“Then you're worried that someone’s going to break in?”

“I’m not!” ' _I just don’t like being by myself_ ' hangs unspoken. But Wonyoung gets the message all the same.

She stops with the teasing, squeezing Yujin's hand. “You should've called earlier.”

“You don’t mind?”

Another nudge. “I’m here, aren’t I?”

A smile, and a nudge back. “Yeah, you are. Thanks.”

They’re quiet after that, staring at the multitude of stars in the night sky, enjoying the moment between them. Wonyoung has no idea how much time she has left with Yujin, so she makes sure that each and every moment they have together is saved deep inside her heart.

Yujin looks beautiful in the muted glow of the streetlight, her silhouette blending perfectly with the dark backdrop of suburban Seoul.

Every time she looks at Yujin, Wonyoung falls just a little bit more.

Time ticks slowly, but surely, and eventually their time will run out. 

And she’ll end up all alone.

Alone...

“Yujin?”

“Hmm?”

“Were you being serious?”

“I'm pretty amazing, I know, but my memory isn't that great. What do you mean by 'it'?” Yujin’s lips are quirked ever so slightly, and Wonyoung resists the urge to lean in and brush her lips against hers. Stupid dimples.

“Were you serious when you said that you’d give up your soulmate for this?” 

It’s hard to believe when she says it out loud. Before, the words were only things she told herself as a form of reassurance. Hearing it out loud makes her reminds her of how much is really at stake.

Yujin laughs, quiet and breathy. “I would’ve thought the answer was clear.” 

Maybe it was, but Wonyoung’s chest aches all the same. How could she be sure, when they’re so obviously meant for other people?

There's a moment of silence, where neither says anything, not wanting to burden the other with the weight of their doubts, their fears. Of an inexplicable feeling of guilt, and a weariness usually reserved for people over the age of 30.

Wonyoung clears her throat.

“So you're really leaving the track team?” 

It's awkward, because she knows the answer already. Knows that Yujin has spent day and night arguing with her parents, begging them to allow her to continue for one more year, because being able to run is important, dammit, no matter how bad her grades are.

She also knows that deep down, Yujin knows that she needs to leave. Before her grades slip even more. Before she starts getting too attached again.

There’s a twinge of pain on her arm, like someone just pinched her, and she knows it's Yujin, asking her to drop it because it's still a sore subject. She watches as Yujin sighs and sits up, ruffling her shoulder-length hair in thinly-veiled frustration.

"Letting go now is always going to be easier."

She knows that Yujin understands the weight of her statement, that there's more riding on her response than just her fate in the track and field team.

But before she is able to even think about it, Yujin leans forward and presses her lips against her cheek, murmuring, “Just because something is easy doesn’t mean it’s the best choice.”

Wonyoung almost shivers, letting out a deep sigh as she turns her head to face Yujin. She hadn’t moved at all from when she’d kissed Wonyoung’s cheek, a small, slightly strained smile tugging at the corner of her lips. Her eyes shift, and suddenly she's captivated by the strength and warmth of Yujin's stare.

She feels like she’s peering into Yujin's soul. Brown pools that hold so much emotion, so much depth. 

But no more. It’s too serious.

“That’s really deep. Where’d you get that?”

Yujin guffaws, leaning away from her, and Wonyoung resists the urge to pout, because now she's cold-

“You’re acting like I’m incapable of saying deep things.” She turns to look at the night sky once more.

“Because you usually don’t.” Wonyoung manages to get out, before shivering violently at a sudden gust of wind that hits the back of her neck.

Yujin shifts to rest her head on Wonyoung's shoulder and grabs her hand, pressing light kisses to the tips of her fingers. It’s almost cringe-worthy, but Wonyoung doesn't complain. She's warm.

“That’s mean! I do too say meaningful things!”

“Mean? I’m mean?? Goodbye, I’m leaving!”

“I won’t let you! You’re mine and I’m not letting you go!”

It’s said as a joke, but she wonders if there’s more to it, wonders if it applies to more than just this particular instance. She’s about to say something, but stops when she feels Yujin shiver beneath her touch. Wonyoung must've underestimated the cold, if even Yujin was shivering.

“Come on, we’re going inside. I don’t care what you say, but I’m going to bed.”

“I’ve been telling you it’s too cold to be outside since the very beginning, but did you listen to me? Noooooo...” Yujin lets Wonyoung pull her up, listens to her nagging, hands intertwined as that they can head back inside, where all thoughts of the cold night air forgotten.

Because Yujin is warm, Yujin _is_ warmth, and Wonyoung never wants to let go.

 

* * *

 

Wonyoung thinks about it seriously, when she's alone, and Yujin's stupid grin isn't there to influence her decisions.

Because she's going to need every ounce of her rationality if she wants to make the right choice.

Option 1: She can stay with Yujin for as long as possible, soulmate be damned. Because there's always an uncertainty with soulmates. Exceptions aren't uncommon, and there are heaps of people who choose not to be with their soulmate (Wonyoung looks over the fact that most soulmate rejectees are abusive, mentally unstable and potentially harmful, etc.)

There's a steadily growing group of people who are convinced that the whole soulmate deal is a scam, and Wonyoung may or may not have read a few op-eds and picked up a few pamphlets here and there. There are even conspiracy groups on Facebook, and Wonyoung doesn't dare to hope and dream about a future with Yujin.

Because it's impossible.

Because she's trying to force herself into a picture that wasn't made to include her.

Which leads her to Option 2.

Option 2: She's going to break up with Yujin as soon as possible

Because who the heck is she trying to kid? Ahn Yujin has a soulmate, someone who's eagerly counting down the days until she meets her, someone who's made to be with Yujin, someone who's made to complete Yujin in a way that Wonyoung can only dream about.

Because she would never deprive Yujin of her happily ever after just to satisfy her own wants and needs. That's extremely selfish, and as a rational, pathetic human being, Wonyoung would never do that to anyone, much less Yujin.

Because even though her heart is probably going to break into a million tiny little pieces, it's better to end things now, right? Just like ripping a bandaid off a wound. Short term pain for long term gain. Right??

She knows that Yujin's soulmate would be able to make Yujin 100 times happier than she is now. She knows that her soulmate is morally, ethically, spiritually, physically, positively, absolutely, undeniably and reliably the person most suited to love the mess that is Ahn Yujin.

She's just got to accept that Yujin's soulmate isn't her.

 

* * *

 

She receives a call from Chaewon on September 5. Her cousin is talking at 30 km/hr and Wonyoung struggles to process everything. She's happy for her. Really. She's mature enough to not be bitter over everyone who gets to meet their soulmate. If anything, it strengthens her resolve to end things with Yujin as soon as possible, because no way is Wonyoung able to take away from Yujin everything that Chaewon is describing to her now.

Wonder. Joy. Excitement. Glee. Anticipation. 

Wonyoung hears it all.

"His name is Bae Jinyoung! He plays cello, and-"

Wonyoung tunes out, storing this information away. She'll stalk him on Facebook later.

Right now, she has something important to do.

 

* * *

 

The heat is suffocating. because even though spring and summer had come and gone, autumn is that awkward time of the year where the temperature could be anything and everything, and no one would be able to say for sure that it isn't meant to be like this. The massive rainstorm that preceded the heat spell meant that Wonyoung is about to choke on the absolutely deathly amount of water vapour in the air.

Yujin is talking about something or other, but Wonyoung isn't paying attention to her. How can she, when she's using every ounce of her willpower to keep herself from just abandoning this whole idea of 'setting Yujin free? She's vaguely aware of Yujin calling her name, trying to get her attention.

"Hmmm?"

"I’ve been calling your name for about a whole minute now. What's up?"

They stop walking. Wonyoung had always thought that the tall sycamore trees in the park were protectors, shielding everyone under its canopy from the brunt of the rainfall, or from passing bird poop bombs, but now they join with the summer heat, closing in on her. Overwhelming her. She resists the urge to gasp for air, because she can't breathe-

"Wonyoung?"

Wonyoung turns to face Yujin.

_Goodbye._

"This has to stop."

She sees Yujin's jaw drop, knows that she understands Wonyoung's words.

"I'm sorry, what?"

(It shouldn’t feel like she just shot someone dead. It shouldn’t, but it _does_.)

For a brief moment she wants to take the words back, to pretend it didn't happen. But it did, and it’s out there now, as it should be.

Maybe it's selfish. Or maybe it's selfless. Wonyoung doesn't know anymore.

"You know we can't keep this up."

Yujin steps away from her, still in shock.

“Why? If we’ve both got time and we’re both happy, why does it matter?”

“Because it's going to end eventually! We can’t deny that.”

“So I’m only good enough until someone better comes along?”

Wonyoung exhales heavily. _Please stop making this so hard..._

“That’s not what I meant! You know I’d choose you every single time, but your soulmate-”

“And? So what if I meet them? Why does there have to be a rule that I can't find someone I want to be with on my own?”

She’s heard this before. She’s heard this so many times before, from classmates, on the radio, in the news, endless debates and arguments all revolving around the one phenomenon that has stumped scientists for centuries. She knows that Yujin follows this kind of news as well, knows that there's no way that she doesn't know that _they_ as a collective is doomed to fail.

Soulmates trump all. That's the truth.

“You shouldn’t let me hold you back. I don’t want to be that person.”

“You don’t! You would never hold me back!” Yujin grabs her shoulders, holding onto her tightly, “Why can’t you see that? Why can’t you see that I want this? That I want you?”

Wonyoungs knows, knows that Yujin is getting desperate, feels it in her gaze and hears it in her voice. She doesn't have the heart to look up at Yujin. But she does anyway.

She’s breathing heavily, and it's obvious that she's upset and frazzled and on the verge of heartbreak. And Wonyoung's heart is aching because she’s the one who caused this.

“Why are you giving up so easily?” Yujin all but yells, and Wonyoung's mind takes her back to the many times little Yujin convinces her to play tag, even though it's glaringly obvious that Wonyoung would never be able to catch up to the faster, stronger, better Yujin. Every time, she ends up giving up. Because it's impossible.

She can't keep up.

Yujin's still squeezing Wonyoung's shoulders tightly, as if tightening her hold on Wonyoung would somehow prevent the end.

_It's nice to dream. But all dreams have to end._

“Because we don’t have forever.” She doesn’t raise her voice, says it quietly, unable to look up, because her eyes are stinging and there's a lump in her throat, and if she looks up at Yujin again she might just fall into pieces.

"How much time do you have left?"

The million dollar question. How much time _does_ she have left?

She exhales, and decides that she might as well be truthful in what is possibly the last time she speaks to Yujin as a friend, as a best friend, as a lover.

"None."

There's silence, and Wonyoung looks up to see Yujin's absolutely gobsmacked face, knows that Yujin's eyes will soon fill with pity, with sympathy. She quickly looks down again, because there is no way she would be able to bear that in her current state of being.

"I know it's strange, and I'm sorry I lied. It's been that way my entire life. Now you understand why I'm doing this, right?"

Silence.

"My time has run out completely, but yours is still ticking. I can't hold you back from something as important as a soulmate. I could never do that to you."

Silence.

Wonyoung's eyes are glassy now, her vision of the grass beneath her feet blurring into mottled green splodges. She looks back up at Yujin. She hasn't moved.

"Yujin? Say something, please-"

Then there's a pair of lips stopping her from speaking. Wonyoung is caught completely off guard, but she kisses back anyway. It's an instinct by now. If Yujin kisses her, she kisses back. Simple.

Then she remembers that it's not that simple, and she pulls away, because damn her heart is hurting, and watches as Yujin reaches into the back of her shorts and pulls out a pink marker, as if she's been waiting for this moment all along, and she watches as Yujin grabs her hand and draws a series of circles and dots on the inside of her wrist, and Wonyoung has to admit that it takes a moment for her to realise that _that's a zero, and another zero, and a colon, and ah Yujin's tracing her timer._

She finishes her drawing, and looks up at Wonyoung with a dazzling smile, leftover tears still shining in her eyes.

Wonyoung looks down and sees the perfectly added layer of symbols. Every zero and every colon are drawn to perfection, pink mixing with the original blue to make a brilliant purple. Yujin _sucks_ at drawing, butchering even the simplest stick figures, and Wonyoung realises. That such prefection would only be possible if Yujin has seen this exact sequence of symbols many, many times, as if she's been looking at it her own entire life-

"Don't you see? My timer's stopped as well."

Wonyoung forgets how to breathe, because she thinks she knows what Yujin means, but it's impossible, and she shouldn't let herself have this hope, because-

"My numbers have been zero for as long as I can remember."

That makes sense, actually. Wonyoung's known Yujin pretty since the day she was born, so there's no way she'd be able to remember a time when her timer was still ticking, and vice versa.

("11 months is a long time!"

 "No it's not!")

"You get me?"

Wonyoung nods, fervently hoping, wishing, because this is everything she's ever wanted, plus some more. But...

"I can see you doubting yourself. Don't. I'm here." Yujin grins, tears flowing once more, and Wonyoung doesn't tease her, because her tears are flowing too, because Yujin's here, and no one else is ever going to take Yujin away because Yujin is her soulmate. Hers.

“And even if we aren't, we have no way of knowing who is. So as far as I'm concerned, I'm your soulmate, and you're mine. Got it?"

That's Yujin-speak for _I refuse to let you go._

And Wonyoung's fine with that, because she's never letting go either.

 

* * *

 

They return to Yujin's house, to the seclusion of their rooftop hideout. They're lying on their backs, staring up at the night sky together, autumn heat forgotten. Wonyoung actually kinda likes it now.

“I still can’t believe it,” Yujin mumbles, eyes closed, as if she was going through the moment all over again. Her eyes were still the slightest bit red from before, the crybaby. "All along…”

“All along,” Wonyoung echoes, feeling the same emotions, still unable to completely process it all. Because she had been so prepared for a fight, for screaming, and sadness, and heartbreak, that she almost doesn't know what to do with herself.

Because they didn't fight, they didn't scream, they weren't sad, or heartbroken. (Well, they were, but only for like, a minute.)

Wonyoung has never felt so alive.

They enjoy the silence together. Every so often, Yujin rolls to face her and presses light kisses on random parts of her face, and it’s perfect.

She's perfect.

It doesn’t matter that it’s way too hot to be autumn (damn global warming), that they’re kind of dying in the humidity of the night. It doesn’t matter that they are both sweaty and gross, as if they were primary schoolers again, running around trying to steal the basketball from each other. It doesn’t matter that their cheeks are kind of red, that they’re outside in the sweltering heat when they could spend their time inside, with air conditioner, and ice cream...

All that matters is that they’re holding onto each other, hearts beating strongly in their chests. Together.

But ice cream...

Wonyoung gets up first, and Yujin whines a little, protesting against the thought of the effort that she needs to exert in order to stand up. Wonyoung smiles, lightly kicking Yujin's leg.

“Let's go inside.”

Yujin looks like she wants to pull Wonyoung down and kiss her again, because she’s pretty sure Yujin would rather spend all night outside in the heat just being, just existing. Together. Because inside, she's going to have to compete with the air conditioner and Wonyoung's tub of mint chocolate ice cream.

But it's Wonyoung. So Yujin gets up anyway.

Wonyoung leans in to press one last quick kiss against Yujin's lips before she pulls back and grabs hold of her hand. Their fingers are intertwined. 

"You still have some mint choco in your freezer, right?"

"You know that tub of toothpaste is yours, and yours alone."

"It's not toothpaste!"

"Uh, Wonyoung, I love you, but your tastebuds are seriously messed up."

"Are not!"

"Are too!"

The sound of their bickering and raucous laughter echoes into the night as they step inside the house. 

They've got forever. 

 

**Author's Note:**

> Let me know what you thought! My twitter is @hichews_ and my cc is the same.
> 
> Thanks for reading!


End file.
